March 3, 2010

Senior Haley Catarius (Marshfield, MA) and juniors Lyra Clark (Nashua, NH) and Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA) led five UMass Lowell athletes named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association of America (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Cross Country Teams, released Tuesday.

Joining Catarius, Clark and MacDonald were freshmen Kelly Walton (Nahant, MA) and Mary Hazen (Framingham, MA).

To be eligible, student-athletes must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and finish within the top 30 percent of the NCAA East Region Championship or the top 50 percent of at the NCAA Championship.

The honor marked the third time Catarius and Clark earned USTFCCCA All-Academic status: Catarius twice for track and field and once for cross country and Clark twice for cross country and once for track and field. Both were recently named to the Northeast-10 Conference All-Academic Cross Country Teams in January.

Enjoying his fourth academic plaudit this season, the award was the first of the USTFCCCA for MacDonald as well as Walton and Hazen.

Both the UMass Lowell men's and women's cross country teams enjoyed another spectacular fall season as the men came away with two major trophies, including their sixth NCAA East Region title in eight years and their third New England Championship - among all three NCAA divisions - in four years. Additionally, UMass Lowell placed 16th at the NCAA Championship on Nov. 21.

The River Hawk women finished as runners-up at both the Northeast-10 and NCAA East Region championships, and placed 23rd at the NCAA Championship. UMass Lowell's second-place finish at the NCAA East Region meet ensured a seventh straight trip to the NCAA Championship.

Clark and Walton were named to the NCAA All-East Region Team, finishing seventh and 15th, respectively, while Catarius placed 20th and Hazen 71st in the field of 178.

A biology major, Clark maintains a 3.84 while Catarius sports a 3.462 in exercise physiology; Hazen a 3.72 and Walton a 3.62, both in civil engineering. All four earned Dean's List honors last semester.

Also a dean's list student, MacDonald repeated his place on the NCAA East Region Team, placing third and leading the River Hawks to their seventh East Region title in nine years. He highlighted the year by earning All-American status at the NCAA Championship, finishing in 26th among scoring runners and 37th overall.

A mathematics major with a 3.41 grade point average, the USTFCCCA honor is the fourth academic plaudit in recent weeks for MacDonald, who was named the inaugural recipient of the NE-10 Sports Excellence Award for the sport of cross country.

Additionally, he was named to the NE-10 Cross Country All-Academic Team as well as the 2009 NE-10 Fall Commissioner's Honor Roll.

MacDonald (mile, distance medley relay), Clark (distance medley relay) and Catarius (800 meters, distance medley relay) are expected to earn bids to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship Mar. 12-13 in Albuquerque, NM.